A Lover's Spat
by anundecidedteen
Summary: For the forbidden fruit are always the sweetest.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: Characters are OC, and there is a severe lack of setting, plot, and other fancy stuff.**

**Naruto is not mine.**

**Sasuke though...**

**j/k**

* * *

"You are taking this way too seriously."

"…you are unbelievable."

"It was a one time thing."

"Once was enough you…jerk!"

"…nice."

"Don't condescend me you asshole!"

"You wound me, really."

"…I hate you."

…

"I can't believe you actually slept with her."

"…It was a one time thing."

"You say that now! What happens when you go on another mission with a thing that has a hole between her legs?"

"Please leave your rhetorical questions to yourself."

"Ugh, …I hate you."

"You already said that."

"Well I really mean it!"

"You're freaking out over nothing, it's just sex."

…

…

…

"…It's not that great anyways."

"Then why did you feel the need to sleep with her?"

"I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Oh, so you both just happen to be naked and you came along, tripped, and fell in a very compromising position?"

"…I told you to shut up with the rhetorical questions."

"Well, I expected you to know better than to go whoring around!"

"It was one time, that's hardly whoring around."

"Humph, once is enough."

"You just say that because you've never done it before."

…

…

"That was low."

"There's nothing wrong with it. I think it's great."

"I'm going on twenty-two."

"Like I said, great."

"I'm leaving."

"Fine."

…

…

"I mean it."

"The door's right there."

…

…

"Okay, well…okay then."

…

"You know you're supposed to stop me right about now."

"I'm not supposed to do anything, you're being unreasonable, and I don't want to fight with you, it makes perfect sense that you leave."

"Ah!...you-you, ugh! What did you get too tired on your romp?"

"Why won't you just leave it alone?"

"Because it means a lot to me! It might not be a big deal to you, but it is to me, so I feel the need to…vent over it."

…

"It's something that should be between too people that love each other, or at least are blinded by some preconceived notion that they at least like each other on a more than friendly basis, and I-"

"I don't like her, it was, it just…happened. There was the rush from the mission and the tension, and it just…yeah."

"…That was the lamest excuse on earth."

"It's better than nothing."

"Wow, really? And we've been on missions before, and I have felt the "tension" pretty clearly on a number of occasions, but have you ever thrown me on the bed to have you're way with me? Nooo."

"The questions, again."

"You know what, maybe I'll just go find a hot guy on my next mission and take all my apparently one-sided "tension" out on him."

….

….

"No."

"I thought it didn't mean anything."

"Hn."

"…Real mature."

"Look who's talking."

"What?"

"I didn't have to tell you, you know."

"Oh, so you're doing me a favor?"

"Will you stop with the questions?"

"So-orry! I'll just take my questions with me to the guy next door; maybe he will appreciate my point of view on sex."

"Stop."

"Finally! Now you try to stop me."

"…Can we just stop talking about you loosing your virginity."

"It's not like it matters to you."

"…I don't know how to respond to that."

"I thought it wasn't a big deal."

"I didn't loose my virginity on that mission."

"Huh! You've done this before?"

…

"…I've lost all faith in you."

…

"You icky man-whore."

…

…

…

"…So, how many times have you-"

"That isn't your business."

"Well, on the contrary, I believe it is."

"I don't care."

"Sheesh, I thought that doing 'it' was supposed to take that stick out of your ass."

"I'm not above harming you."

"Kinky."

….

"Okay, sorry."

"As you should be."

"I can't- you're the one who cheated!"

"…You can't cheat if you're not in a relationship."

"Well when there are complications like ours, yeah, you can."

"Your logic is lower than Naruto's."

"So you say that our relationship is ordinary?"

"…I really don't appreciate your questions."

"That's what I thought."

"I thought you were leaving."

"Do you feel nothing for me?"

"Is that supposed to be rhetorical?"

"…there literally is no one that is as much of an ass as you…are you sure you weren't switched with the animal at birth?"

"I'm done with you."

"I hate you."

"You've already said that, twice actually."

"Don't talk to me."

…

…

"Are you going to leave?"

"Not till you apologize."

"It isn't my fault that you are in a bad mood."

"Actually, yes it is. You are the one who, when I kindly thought 'oh, I'll bring my estranged teammate dinner' was like- without saying thank you mind you!- 'I like tomato flavored better, by the way, I randomly did a chick on my last mission'."

"...It went nothing like that."

"Well it had the same impact."

"I never said anything about dinner."

"You're face said it all."

"Have you grown up at all?"

"Growing old is inevitable, growing up is a choice."

…

…

…

"Really though, did you not think about me at all when you did it?"

"It would be pretty rude of me if I thought of you while-"

"No you idiot! I mean…when you were thinking, before."

"…No."

…

…

"Oh."

"It's not like…"

"Not like what?"

"…nothing."

"No, tell me."

"It's not like we would ever, do… it."

"Oh."

…

"Do you just not find me attractive that way or…why?"

"You want to?"

"…You seriously didn't know that?"

"Is that a serious question?"

"God! Stop skirting around the question! Of course I want to have sex with you! I love you!"

…

…

…

…

…

"Well, this is awkward."

"I'm thinking."

"So now you decide to think, why do you have to think when it comes to getting it on with me?"

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm at the moment."

"…I just confessed my love to you, and this is what you have to say?"

"Well it's not like you haven't done it before."

"…at least I'm consistant."

"Ah."

…

…

"Soo…?"

"I didn't know you felt that way, like that."

"Oh,... well, I do."

"So what do you want to do?"

"What do you mean what do I want to do? I'm the one putting myself out here, contribute!"

"I guess…well I do like you a lot more than the other girls."

"Oh, you're a real Cassanova."

"You're…tolerable."

"And you're a dick."

"I'm really feeling the love."

"Well you should."

"So do you want to get married or something?"

"Please tell me that wasn't your way of proposing, we aren't even in a relationship."

"…I'm not even going to address that remark, and it was not a proposal, I need to know what you expect out of this, thing, between us."

"Well, we don't really have a thing yet."

"You are so helpful, and you wonder why I left you on a bench."

"That was low."

"It could have been the road."

"…I'm going to cry, really."

…

…

"Stop crying."

"You're mean!"

"You know what to expect in this relationship, just like I expect you to be a loud, annoying, nagging, control freak."

"…how can you say all of that in a passing manner?"

"It's who you are."

…

…

…

"Stop crying, snot is starting to run out of you're nose."

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

"You're nagging independence is…not a bad thing necessarily."

"…how?"

"…Good mothers are nagging."

"So I'm going to be you're baby machine?"

…

"Don't give me that look."

"Your accusations are ridiculous, though a couple of kids would be alright later."

"You are going to have to stop sleeping around."

"For the love of- I'm not sleeping around."

"Humph, just because our standards are different, doesn't make it any less true."

"You're unbelievable."

"You know you love me."

…

…

…

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah what?"

"Yeah…to the first part."

…

…

"Oh. In that case, you better get me a good ring."

"…What exactly is considered a good ring?"

"Let's see, it has to be one with a silver band, and a princess cut, with maybe two diamonds on the sides, not really tiny, but not too big either so that it's gaudy, or big like it is really, really noticeable, but so that if someone happens to be staring they can see it, oh, and it has to be one that you picked out from the heart."

…

…

"So few requirements, do you have the item number at the jewelers too?"

"Shut up! It's something that I am going to be wearing for the rest of my life."

"…You're annoying."

"Why do you always have to be so mean?"

"Shut up or I'll make you shut up."

"You see what I mean? It's always 'you're annoying, shut up, you're weak, I left you on a bench'. Blah, blah, blah. Seriously, try to say something nice at least-"

…

…

…

"Oh, ...Well then. This relationship isn't going to be just physical you know."

…

"I mean it, Sasuke we really need to work on our communication skills!"

"Don't worry about it."

"How can you-"

…

…

…

"Stop doing that!"

"Shut up, we have the rest of our lives to work on it."

* * *

**Well, I hope that was kind of, romantic? funny? I don't know it just popped into my head while I was watching count down to 100 greatest music artists on MTV. So review? Please :) **


	2. Chapter 2

**This is going to be a series of one-shots for plots that I don't have inspiration to develop. I originally wanted them all to be in dialogue only, but the multiple years of horrendous english classes makes that physically impossible.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Her breath left her in steaming pants that roared in her ears as each inhale assaulted her senses with the dry, dying leaves littered about, among other smells of wilderness. Eyes squeezed shut at the noise in a flinch, but no effort was made to quiet the pants; it would be pointless anyways. Looking down, she became aware of her numbed fingers shaking. She flexed them, burning her muscles at the movement, but the chill remained.

Closing her mouth, she allowed her head to fall back against the bark. Her green eyes squinted slightly at the brightness elicited from the clear blue above, broken by the many bare branches, and few fighting leaves. Making a perfect "O" with her chapped lips, she let the breath leave in a stream. As her chest heaved with the burning frigidness of the cold, Sakura quietly wondered if this would be her last breath, or this one, or this one.

She silently cursed herself for not having mythical powers to foresee into the future. She knew that these were her last moments, her carelessly loud trek through the brush and crumbling leaves made sure of that, and she had no illusions that he did not sense her.

She knew, he knew she was there, and she cherished these last moments he was giving her, even if she was hidden behind an oak tree. He probably didn't consider her an immediate threat although she was no more than seventy-five feet way, she thought with an eye-roll as the scraping of metal against rock continued, the bubbling of the stream weaving constantly between the rings.

Sakura was scared, and she bit her lip at the feeling. Emotions: stupid. Swiveling her head down again, she gazed at her hand resting on the frozen ground beside her. If only she could see Naruto again, she thought as she curled the pale fingers around the orange foliage, then she could hug him tightly and tell him she loved him and would never leave him alone, no matter what happened. Looking at the hand on the other side, she took a deep breathe and wondered how Kakashi would take the news of her death, probably blame himself with a bowed head and hands in pockets. The right corner of her lip twitched down at the thought, and she became aware that her ears were burning with chill.

What was taking him so long? He might be waiting to see what she was going to do, like a boy watching an ant scurry under a magnifying glass, or maybe he had made a clone of himself that was creeping closer even as he continued to sharpen his dumb sword.

Sakura spent the next thirty seconds with her mind racing with good-byes and apologies to anyone she had encountered during her lifetime, all seventeen years of it. She even sent a silent prayer that the cute bakery-boy would forgive her for stealing a donut while he was ringing up Ino's purchase four months ago.

And then she got down to the last one, and the racing stopped. So did the breathing. The cold made her eyes heavy and her blink lasted a second longer as the corners of her lips started to twitch uncontrollably against her wishes. Somehow she managed not to flinch as the freezing metal pressed against the hollow of her throat.

She wouldn't die right away; she would choke on her own blood for a few seconds first before loosing consciousness.

"Not even going to fight?" She kept her eyes closed and smirked slowly.

"I suppose there is no point at this moment." A mocking tisk was the reply, and she found herself holding her breath as the pressure against her throat rose a fraction. Her lips pursed when she felt hot breath on her face.

"Oh, now what would Naruto think to that?" Slowly, her eyes opened in a dark glare. A bird's cry was heard in the distance, and she wondered if that would be last time she heard an animal as well.

"Either way, I'm going to disappoint him. Like someone else I know." A small satisfaction rose inside her when he rose back to full height, barely concealed anger on his features, right next to the crazy inside him: just about to break the surface. "You don't know me, you never did."

Her smirk rose darkly, if only that didn't hurt. She was amazed she wasn't going into cardiac arrest with him being here, in front of her, finally. Even under these circumstances. Taking a deep breath, she forced out her words, "I really miss you ya' know." His smirk jerked something inside of her.

"The feeling isn't mutual." She bit the inside her cheek, wondering at why he was talking to her instead of just killing her. Regardless of the reasons, she was going to make the most of this phenomenon. "Never was, was it?"

Another bird cried, and Sakura wished she could jump on it and fly far away from the situation, from life. She wouldn't have to wait long.

"I'm going to kill you." She raised her eyebrow at this. "I know, and I know you won't care that you do it either." The smirk slid off his face, and it tilted to the side.

"All grown up now huh, Sakura?" She shut her eyes as the rumble of her name left his lips and slid down her arms. Despite the reaction, his mocking tone was not lost on her.

"No, still a pathetic girl, just a few more muscles." She opened her eyes to see his beautiful face again; might as well die with a happy image. His dark eyes flickered down her crouched form, pausing a moment at her chest. Inner Sakura didn't find it in herself to snap at the rude gesture. His dark eyes slid up to her own again, and she wondered if he had cast a genjutsu on her or not.

"What will you do after everyone you know dies?" She mentally screamed at herself why she was making small talk with her soon-to-be killer. Anything to be with him, right?

"My clan will be cleansed." He said it with such reassurance.

"Do you really believe that? And that doesn't answer my question." Her heart was starting to hurt with how much pressure was being put on it with the situation at hand. His mouth opened minutely before closing, his smooth lips opened once more a moment later, "It doesn't matter." The anticlimactic answer sent disappointment flooding through her, mixing with the cold in her system.

"Well don't just die when it's done, it will be in insult to everyone, to me." What was she saying! Her mouth was running without her thinking, maybe her brain had frozen in the chill?

One perfectly arched eyebrow rose. "You won't be alive." Her cracked lips twitched into a smirk.

"Doesn't mean I won't be watching you." This statement seemed to bother him, because his grip on the hilt of his weapon tightened until the knuckles turned white. She hummed in bitter amusement at his reaction. "What? Still don't want me along for the ride, Sasuke?"

His mouth twisted at her bitter sentence. "Fuck you. I'm going to kill you and that will be the end of you, and then I will kill your precious nine-tails." Her face turned serious at the mention of her best friend, her brother.

"Why does it mean so much to you that we die?" She squeezed her lips shut so the broken tone would be locked inside. For a moment, the pressure of the blade lessened and Sakura was able to breathe freely for a few seconds.

"Because you are the ones I'm tied to."

The honest, albeit stotic answer broke her façade of cold sarcasm completely into a crumpled face assaulted with frozen tears. His image began to blur in front of her. "Damn it Sasuke, how can you do this? How can you hurt us, me so much?" Her hands brushed against the leaves on the forest floor with restlessness. She wanted to hit something to rid herself of the anger of showing weakness: the anger for his stubborn and broken mind.

He didn't answer, only watched her cry. Her boots slid against the fallen leaves as her legs lowered against them. "Every time I heard about you, thought about you, hell even now, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, and I wish you weren't even born! I wish you weren't fucking born."

Quiet,

and then:

"Why?" She sniffed loudly, the snot in her nose freezing.

"Because if you weren't born; I would never have loved you." The pressure in her chest made her feel like she was going to burst from drowning in the waves of emotion, and she was powerless against it all, like usual. After a few minutes, she finally recovered herself enough to breathe somewhat normally.

"I never loved you." She smiled up at him through her frozen eyelashes and blotched cheeks.

"But you can't deny you were attached to me, still are attached." His response was immediate.

"Not for much longer." She sighed at the predictability, then nonchalantly,

"Maybe in another life, one without clans or bloodlines, or walking on water." Suddenly she became aware that the sun was setting, turning her face a little to the right, Sakura saw the stars were starting to peek out in the sky, what a pretty night to die on.

"Or snakes." Her attention snapped to his face. He looked ethereal in the fading light, but maybe that was because of the pedestal she set him on all the time.

With a small smile she agreed, "Or snakes."

With a blank face, he raised his sword beside his head.

She would die immediately, no pain.

"Goodbye, Sakura." She closed her eyes as her breathing picked up and the sense of death and danger rang in her ears, but she made no attempt to move.

The suspense was killing her just as much as the blow was going to. Her tears flowed freely from her lashes and down the sides of her nose. "I love you."

The words came out in a rush, afraid that she wouldn't be able to finish them before she died, but she didn't open her eyes to see his reaction, or attempt to make him stop, or anything.

She didn't see him close his own eyes before the air was split, and she didn't hear the dull thud that followed a moment later, but she was pretty sure she felt like she was flying the next.


	3. Chapter 3

**Inspired by Blink 182 "I miss you" from which come the lyrics. Um, it doesn't really go with the song, and It's kind of crappy, but take a look. **

* * *

Don't waste your time on me you're already the voice inside my head.

She lay on the bed, staring at the popcorn ceiling. There was nothing better to do on this gloomy Saturday. She sighed as she rolled over onto her stomach and stared at her depressing reflection in the full-length mirror across the room. Her eyes traveled over her hot pink top, she frowned at the small love handles that peaked between her cameo and spandex she had worn to bed the night before. She brought her attention back to her face, half hidden by her stuffy pillow. A delicate eyebrow raised in the reflection, as if asking her what she was doing, checking herself out in the mirror.

With another sigh she rolled into her original position on her back. Her arm fell back by her head with a flop; utter boredom filled her as her eyes searched the ceiling, her lips tightening in disapproval of the web in the corner of the wall and ceiling by her closet.

Catching things and eating their insides…

She closed her eyes against the thoughts and turned over again to bury her head into the fluffy pillow, mentally imagining a brick wall that would keep out the thoughts. A few seconds of nothing resulted in her continuing her roll so she landed on the wooden floor beside her bed, the pillow still pressed to her face as she continued to roll across the room.

Don't waste your time on me you're already the voice inside my head...

Without looking, her right arm shot out and hit the correct button on the stereo so that music flowed obediently out of the speakers and filled the room. The pillow was removed from her face.

I miss you…

Oh, here it comes again. She braced her face into a stone mask, but the battle was lost as her lips quivered. Traitors. She squeezed her eyes shut against the action.

The unsuspecting victim…

A deep breath swelled her chest under the hot pink top, it held for a few beats before it steadily decompressed. Green, glassy, eyes revealed themselves as the memories of the day before came back.

This sick, strange darkness comes creeping on so haunting every time…

Damn it. She was doing so well, too. With a third sigh, she rolled away from the images created in her head and banged her fist against the floor, wincing an instant later when she remembered that her parents were in the kitchen below her.

"Sakura, honey is everything, alright?" She swallowed thickly, making sure that there was no waver in her voice before she spoke. "Just peachy mom." The response did not deter the older woman whose age worked as a tool that wiped her memory of such times that her daughter was currently experiencing. She opened the door to find her only child lying face down on the cold floor by her bed.

"…Did you hit your head?" Oh why did she force her to speak? The effort the teen put into appeasing her mother was enough to almost cause a glimmer to form on her skin. "Nope, my knee."

Silence followed.

"Okay…there's food-" She was intercepted by the mess on the floor.

"Not hungry." She held her breath, hoping her mother would leave it at that, but of course…

"You know honey, it's just one boy. I know it feels like the end of the world right now, but there will be more. Trust me." None like him…

"Okay mom." The woman sighed at her daughter before finally leaving her to wallow in her misery. Almost immediately, Sakura rolled onto her back, her glistening eyes shifted back to the spider web in the corner, the lone black creature seemed as lonely as she. And the tears started to fall.

The day before, Sasuke Uchiha, the boy she had been in love with since forever, the boy who made her heart race and stomach tremble and her emotions out of wack, started dating the beauty queen of the school. It broke her heart.

And hear your voice of treason…

"_So, I heard that you asked Karin out."_

"_Yeah." Sakura watched their breathing mingle in the steam before them. _

"_You really like her don't you?" Why was she doing this! It was only hurting her more, but for some reason she just couldn't…_

"_She's different from the rest of the girls." What about me? Is she different from me too?_

"_Oh, well…I'm glad you found someone you like, Sasuke." Silence ensued between the two. "Um, I've got some math to…so I'll, um I'll see you around okay?" She could only glance once quickly at him because she could feel the tears she had held in all day start to build. It was hearing him say it: that was what sent the reality of him wanting another girl home. It was the one glance that told her she better make a quick retreat because he was staring at her with a quirked eyebrow, as if she was acting strange. No dip Sherlock! _

_She always thought there was something, but she reprimanded herself for even thinking such an impossible thing as she studied the concrete below her sneakers while she walked away, her head bowed. _

_Whenever they had to partner up in class, he would miraculously appear beside her desk with a grunt before sitting down. He had asked her to prom last year, although she had to beg him to dance more than once with her. He gave her rides, and made her laugh with his soft comments, but all of it wasn't because he liked her._

_She was so stupid! _

_Why would he like her anyways? Sakura Haruno._

"_Hey Sakura, wait!" The sound of his voice caused her to suck in her breath sharply, and she took rapid deep breathes to calm herself before turning around to face him. She didn't get the chance to completely compose herself because he grabbed her mitted palm, causing her to flinch minutely, and spun her around towards him suddenly. _

_She avoided looking into his face. "Yeah, what do you want?" She bit her lip at how bitter her tone was, and she cleared her throat as she stared off at the blinding white that covered the ground._

"_I wanted to say that, you being happy for me, means a lot." She subtly tried tugging her hand out of his grasp, but he kept a strong grip on her appendage. _

"_Yeah, no problem." This was the worst day of her life, and the one time he voluntarily talks, she wishes that he would just shut up. _

"_You mean a lot to me, Sakura, you're one of my best friends." The first frozen tear slid down her cheek. She ripped her hand out of his easily this time to swiftly wipe the thing out of existence. _

"_Yeah, um I'll see you around." She made to turn away, it couldn't get anymore embarrassing, but he grabbed her elbow this time. "Let me go." She calmly commanded while still facing away from him. _

"_I will see you around, right?" His voice took on the no-nonsense tone. He was serious, and he wanted only one answer. She couldn't disappoint of course. Wiping away more tears furtively, she turned towards him again with a broken smile. _

"_Of course, we are friends." She slid out of his grasp once more and quickly escaped his presence._

But of course she couldn't completely escape him. He was all over in her head.

I need somebody…

She lied; she didn't plan on seeing him around, not like before. It hurt, and she knew that he would be angry with her, and maybe he would be hurt as well, but whatever. He chose_ Karin_, so good riddance.

Sakura slowly dragged herself up the side of her bed. When she flopped down, she shook her head. What was she thinking? A woman scorned was a terrible thing, she didn't want him to suffer, she just…she didn't know what she wanted anymore because it was futile to yearn for what she previously desired.

This sucked.

A melody rang out that differed from the one flowing from the stereo. With a lazy arm, she reached over and grabbed the small device, not bothering to look at the caller. No matter who it was, she didn't want to talk to them.

Like indecision to call you…

"Hello?" Her voice was harsh and scratchy from crying, and she leaned away from the phone to clear it before returning her ear to the receiver. At first there wasn't anything.

"Look, Naruto, I'm not in the mood for your prank calls right now, so say what you have to say or I'm gonna-"

"Sakura." She bolted up in the bed, her heart in her throat. After a moment, she calmed herself. "Sasuke, hi." What did he want? Wasn't it enough that he completely embarrassed her yesterday at the school?

Where are you and I'm so sorry…

Stupid boys.

He didn't say anything after a moment, so her mind naturally raced to the obvious reasons he could be calling. She finally found one. "You're calling about math right? I haven't done it yet, but I've got my book, so what num-" Again she was interrupted.

"I didn't call about math." She deflated with a tiny, "Oh." Almost immediately, her mental brick wall failed her as what if's flooded her mind. Before she could get worked up, she voiced the question.

"Then, why did you call?" She closed her eyes, hoping and not hoping at the same time as she squeezed her big toe with the hand not holding the phone to her ear.

"We aren't okay are we?"

Don't waste you're time on me; you're already the voice inside my head…

She tried to take a deep breath, but for all her effort, it came out as a slight sob.

"No Sasuke, no we're not."

I miss you…

* * *

**High school relationships suck, guys are so confusing, and girls get too attached. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, since some of you requested a continuation of the last chapter, I attempted it. I tried to keep sort of the same format of the other chapter in hopes that it would hold whatever it was that made you lovely readers enjoy the other chapter so well. So, enjoy.**

**And Review!**

* * *

He sighed softly as his wrist flicked, sending the object up into the air before it spun back down into his palm again.

"_We aren't okay are we?" He waited, his heart thudding softly in the silence of his room as he waited for her answer, wishing that she would giggle softly, ending with a sigh before washing his guilt away: "Why would you ask something silly like that? Of course we're okay, just peachy." Because she would say something stupid like that, but life hates him and instead she let out a shuddered breath that made his eyes squeeze shut._

"_No Sasuke, no we're not."_

He let out an irritated breath as the hacky sack left his hand again. His dark eyes drifted from the absentminded action to stare at the ring of light given off by his desk lamp in the otherwise dark room. Why was life so difficult?

His hand snatched out to grab the object quickly out of the air before he forcefully pushed himself out of the desk chair, the free hand coming up to run through his hair roughly. This was not how tonight was supposed to go. His features pulled down into a frown. Senior prom was supposed to be followed by parties, and drinking, and…well.

With a sigh, he swung his leg and flopped backwards onto the mattress, the second bounce hurting his head a little upon impact. His eyes returned to the ring of light on the ceiling. It was as if everything just, fell apart. All because of one stupid girl. Yeah, that's what she was.

"_Well, what do you want me to do? Break up with her?" There was a small bite in his tone, unbelieving at her selfishness. Finally, he found someone, someone he was into, that made his heart speed up looking at her, and one of his best friends hates her._

"_No." Her meek answer had his eyes rolling. _

"_Then what? What do you-"_

"_I meant it," She softly, yet sternly interrupted him, "when I said I was happy for you. Just, give me some space so I can get over it." He exhaled the breath held to speak. Well that seemed logical, a win-win. But her voice had his hand running through his hair. _

"_Space." He dully replied._

"_Yeah, I don't want to make things awkward, and I-I" another sob, an ache accompanied it. "I'm sorry."_

That was the last time he spoke to her. He turned his attention back to the hacky sack, bringing it to his fingertips to twirl it around. She wanted space, and so he gave it to her. Everyone knew that she had a thing for him, he knew it, but she was cool about it, unlike all the other girls. That's what enabled them to become close, for him to care about her, but then _she_ came.

Thinking back to the first day he met his girlfriend, a small smirk made it's appearance on his soft lips, but that quickly disappeared when the image was replaced by Sakura's bent back and hung head the weeks following 'the phone call'.

At first he felt guilty, secretly watching her out of the corner of his eye at school as she pretended to keep it together. But that guilt was washed with anger as the days and weeks went by.

Surely she didn't care about him that much? They were friends, why couldn't she just get over it so everything could go back to normal? The hacky sack was ripped out of the air again as he turned over onto his stomach, glaring at the wall. Stupid girl, making him feel bad.

He studied the dark blue paint, noting the small dents and holes that had been collected over the years as he toed off his sneakers. He didn't care if it was prom or not, he wasn't going to wear some dumbass dress shoes for three hours of dancing, if that was what it could be called.

The smirk came back as he flipped onto his back once again, shoeless. Karin was a _great _dancer, and she looked hot with her fiery red hair fanning out around her face as she moved, and her burgundy dress accentuating every shake, dip, and pop. He couldn't get enough of it as the sweat poured down both of them, the space was so humid, and everyone was sweating.

Closing his eyes, he could feel the bead of sweat that tickled down his temple and around his chin when he looked up and saw her. The hand tightened around the hacky sack as he saw her again.

_His dark eyes lifted momentarily from watching Karin move in front of him, and his heart stopped, well the rest of him did at least. There she was, in the middle of the dance floor, under the disco ball. The momentary gap between bodies shut and he shifted his weight to his heels, straining his neck to find another gap between bodies. He eventually did, and again he froze. _

_Tiny white lights danced across her skin as she moved, her hair accentuated by the white of her elegant dress, she was gorgeous he thought. _

No sounds escaped him as he slowly opened his eyes from the image. That was the first time he had been captivated by Sakura. Sure, he thought she was silly, weird, pretty, smart, independent, assertive, and cool in the way that he didn't mind hanging out with her, but for all her amazing attributes, he just never felt the spark with her. Now Karin was a different story, immediately she challenged him, make him notice her only to scurry away with another boy or with a smirk he wanted to kiss off her face just to show her she had no control over him. She was smart as well, and feisty, and hot. He didn't care what the girls whispered about her behind her back, girls that included Sakura. He liked her, a lot.

A frown inched its way down his face. He liked Sakura too. Deep down, he would say that he probably loved her even, he had discovered that little fun fact about himself about three weeks after 'the phone call' when he was so angry and fed up with seeing her mope around that he considered just breaking it off with Karin altogether.

Slowly, he rolled over to his side, sliding his feet over the edge of the bed to land on the floor so he could drag himself up. He was utterly bored, but before he could rise off the bed completely, he thought better of it and flopped back down onto the black comforter.

He really liked Karin, but Sakura was his friend since childhood, before hormones kicked in and made her love him. He didn't want to give her up, but he didn't have to make that decision because the next day at school, she was different.

_He sauntered down the hallway after dropping Karin off at math. He had more than a minute to go, there was no rush. For a few steps he watched his Nikes step on the squares of the tile with only small thuds, lost in the thunder of other students rushing off to class. Suddenly, he heard her voice materialize out of the crowd. Something hitched in his chest, excitement maybe? _

_Casually, he lifted his face to look seemingly ahead of him. On the side of his vision, he spotted her. She was walking towards him, immersed into a conversation with Ino, her best girl friend. The corner of his vision stayed focused on her as he walked forward, and she walked towards him, his heartbeat seemed to speed up with every step until he could hear the his of his breath coming out of his nose, and then, she threw her head back and laughed._

_Really laughed, just as she passed him. He stopped and turned his head to look after her. She didn't look back, she didn't notice him._

Sasuke's red vest rose and fell as he sighed at the memory. It was at that moment he knew that he lost her. They weren't going to ever be the same because he chose a girl over her, and tonight when he saw her, was the first time in his life that he wanted to walk over there and pull her into his arms, forgetting about Karin completely.

He wondered what she would feel like if he kissed her.

The thought was quickly shaken away with a jerk to his head, his hand coming up to massage across his eyes.

This was why she was stupid, putting him in a bad mood during senior prom night. He was supposed to get laid. A small growl left him as he agitatedly slid his hand down to his chest and glared at the ceiling.

It was what happened during prom, and a mutual understanding was set between him and Karin, nothing had to be said, they just knew: special night after just over three months of dating; tonight was the night. But half an hour into the after party, she was throwing up, completely smashed. Fifteen minutes after that, Sasuke had driven her home, and now, almost twenty minutes later, he was collapsed on his bed, bored out of his mind, frustrated, and reminiscing.

"Well this sucks a dick."

Then, a thought hit him. Sakura wouldn't be at a party.

His glare on the ceiling relented. She just didn't party, and she didn't like her date, she couldn't.

Sasuke sat up and slouched his elbows on his knees as he stared down at the carpet, wiggling his sock clad toes experimentally. He was a pansy basketball player, _Arata, _he thought with a roll of his eyes. "Che."

He pushed to his feet and took the two steps needed to reach his desk. Resting against the edge, he picked up his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found her name. His large thumb hovered above the tiny green phone print for only a moment before he mentally pushed with all of his might, and a ring filled the silence in the next moment.

He lifted the devise to his ear and swept his gaze around his room, the corner of his mouth pulled down as he wondered why he kept all the lights off in the house but his desk lamp. With a shake of his head he dismissed the thought. He had long ago decided there were things not quite right about him.

The phone had rung three times. He pushed off of the desk and walked back over to his bed, tossing the hacky sack absently with the other hand.

Four rings,

Five.

An irritating thought ran through his head, what if she didn't pick up? Well, that would be disappointing. His dark brows tilted down. What was he going to say anyways?

Before his blank mind could come up with a thought, her voice rang out, making him jump.

"Hello?" It sounded like she was laughing, or smiling as she answered, and he could hear music thumping in the background.

So she was at a party.

And her tone of voice meant that she didn't know it was he who was calling,

Which meant that she deleted him from her contacts. A pang went through him, but he beat it back and found his voice eventually. "Hey." His hand immediately smacked itself on top of his head, why did he have to sound like such a pansy when he said that? His eyes squeezed shut in mortification as he collapsed back onto his bed, his head saved by the fluffed pillow, courtesy of Mrs. Uchiha, a.k.a mother.

As he waited for her to respond, he heard a deep voice in the background ask who it was. Arata, probably…the douche.

He didn't hear her response, but after a moment, the muffled noise in the background clicked off, and for a second he thought she hung up on him. Then he heard her breathe, steady and calm, on the other end.

"Sasuke." She said his name breathlessly, the way someone says a person's name when they can't believe who it is, they don't want to believe it in case they were being tricked.

He inhaled deeply, as if breathing in her voice. "Yeah."

"Um, why are you calling?" He smirked at how casual she sounded, as if they hadn't been fighting unofficially for three months, as if he hadn't broken her heart.

"Just bored." He winced mentally. That was not the thing to say, it made him sound like she was a last resort. Of course he only thought this after he heard her dejected answer.

"Oh, where's Karin?" He could have slapped himself.

"She got…sick." There safe answer.

"I hope she gets better, it must suck being sick during prom." The nice thing to say, but she sounded kind of sincere. That's who Sakura was, and he smirked for it. He couldn't think of anything to say as he lie there and listened to her breathe softly on the other side of the line, her attention focused on him as much as he was focused on her.

After a few moments, she sighed. "Hey, I have got to go, so unless there's something you need…?" She trailed off, waiting for his response, and he frowned.

He didn't want her to go yet. "Okay then, I guess I'll talk to you-" He squeezed the hacky sack again as he rushed out,

"Wait, Sakura, I…" He trailed off as he stared at the blank popcorn ceiling. What was he supposed to say?

"Yes, Sasuke?" And there it was. The sigh of words urging him to open up, to share himself with her like before. He heard the hope in them as she waited for him to finish his sentence, but what did he want to say? What was the best thing for her?

_I thought you looked beautiful tonight._

_I miss you._

_I want to kiss you._

_I want you._

_I love you._

"I…hope you have a good time at your party." He closed his eyes against his cowardliness.

His heart ripped a little bit, but…

She sighed again, disappointedly. "Thanks, I'll talk to you later, okay?" She wasn't going to talk to him voluntarily again, he knew it instantly from the sound of her voice, it was the same tone she used before.

"_I'll see you around, okay?" _

He barely managed to rasp out a reply. "Yeah." He was so stupid!

"Bye Sasuke." And then there was the dial tone. He dropped his hand next to his head on the bed, his phone resting lightly against his limp fingers as he looked up at the white ceiling, boneless.

The hope, he heard the hope in her voice that he would say all the things he wanted to say to her, but she was too good for him. Always had been, maybe that's why he never looked at her before, because she was way out of his league and he knew it, especially since he still had Karin, and she was so close to being over him.

It wouldn't be fair to either of them.

With a cry of anger he threw the hacky sack as hard a s he could at the opposite wall.


	5. Chapter 5

**I have no idea where this came from, I don't even remember writing it, but I figured that it didn't deserve to just be deleted so here it is.**

**The content isn't T, so the RATING FOR THIS CHAPTER IS M.**

**It kind of reflects my two one-shots "Out of Sanity" and "Feigned Insanity", So if you like it, check those out.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

She sighed in aggravation. Here they were, again.

"This has to stop." The response was a grunt, as usual.

At first she believed that it was a grunt of affirmation to her words, but after a while she began to think that maybe it was a dismissal of them, she didn't even know anymore. With another sigh she turned away from him, dragging the sheet with her. She felt dirty, she always did after.

"We…should just stay away from each other." She swallowed thickly, tears of anger, self-deprecation always followed- same old song and dance- but her words were strong. In the silence of the room, she could hear his head shift on the pillow. "It's not like it's that hard to do." The words were meant for herself, but she knew he heard her because the harsh rip of the sheet from across his body followed a moment later. The bed shifted and she bounced along with it as he sat up.

You are making a bigger deal out of it than it really is." Her mouth dropped open as she whipped around to face his naked back, raised on her elbows.

"Yeah, because teammates sleep with each other all the time, right?" Rhetorical. How did this even happen? Sex was supposed to be with someone she loved, and loved her.

He spared her a glance. "It happens." She flopped back on the bed, deflated.

"I don't want you coming back." Like she hadn't said that before. Another grunt and shift as he rose to find his clothes. She threw her arm over her forehead. Affairs were supposed to have some affection, right? Make the partners feel good. "Why?" Oh here it comes, the crack, crack, crack. Normally he would be gone by this time.

He didn't respond, and anger coursed through her as she glared at his semi-naked form. "I'm serious, why me? What makes me such a prime piece of meat to fuck?"

"None of your business." His childish snap at her from over his shoulder made her see red, and she forgot about her nakedness as she rose to her knees, the sheet falling to the bed's surface.

"None of my business? I'm pretty sure that this is very much my business you asshole!" He whirled on her after her near scream; he didn't even glance at the skin displayed before him, his eyes immediately locking with hers.

"You're an easy fuck, that's why." She jerked back, as if it was a physical blow dealt to her, and she slumped from the impact, the fire simmering, yet not gone, not at all.

"Then go to a whorehouse. I'm done with you." She picked up the sheet and wrapped it around herself once more after the soft reply to his attack.

What was the point in arguing, she knew he had no attachments to her. She rolled over, back into her original position and waited to hear him leave, yet there were no sounds. She braced herself, forcing all the emotions to stay below the surface till he was far, far away from her room, from her life. She hated him.

"You've said that before." His words made her flinch: she wasn't expecting him to continue it.

"Just go." She wasn't going to let him bait her into more arguing, she was tired of him, tired of his presence in her life. Ever since she was ten, it seemed like her life revolved around him, and she was sick of it.

Instead of hearing the door slam, the bed shifted again. With a furrowed brow she turned towards him again to find that he had a knee on the bed, as if he was going to crawl towards her. The dam was beginning to break, and in a rush of self defense, she again rose on her knees, and shifted towards him to push on his clothed chest. "Go away! Go away! Go away!" With each exclamation, she pushed harder and harder on his pictorials, wishing that she could push him back, away from her before he saw her emotions and sneered at her weakness. "I hate you! Go away!" He captured her wrists and threw her onto her back. She bounced with the mattress as he crawled over her with furious eyes, immobilizing her.

She could have broken from it if she summoned her chakra, but then he would do the same, and it would get very ugly. She didn't want the medics to examine her naked body, still filthy of him and his essence. Her chest started to shake with dry cries that she tried to hide behind bitten lips. She turned her face away from his and towards the wall.

"You hate me?" His tone sent a dreadful sensation through her veins, she was afraid of him, always afraid of him.

"Yes." Her whisper resulted in a tightening on her wrists, she refused to flinch. "I hate you and everything you do to me, I hate the feelings you create in me, I hate that you…I hate everything that has to do with me and you." And here come the tears, just great. Her face heated in humiliation.

"Look at me." She shook her head in the negative, careful to keep her gaze away. "Look at me!" the demand was followed by a shake of her wrists that almost elicited a whimper from her.

"Why? What are you going to say? Are you going to fuck me again? There is nothing you can do but hurt me more, which is why this needs to stop." She could feel his breath on her chin and neck as she tried to stop her trembling lips. Why did she always cry? It was annoying.

"I don't know what to say, I don't know how…" She didn't catch his trail off, she thought it was the end of his words, and she felt despair all the more for it.

"Then don't say anything, you don't have to fix everything, just leave me alone. Please." He dropped his head onto her shoulder. "No."

Eyes squeezed shut. "I don't want you."

"No."

Head shaking. "I don't want you."

"No, look at me." She opened her eyes, and slowly she turned to face him.

He slowly leaned in and kissed her. When he pulled back, more tears leak down her cheeks.

"I don't want you if you are filling an obligation." He kissed her again, longer this time. "I hate you." He moves to her cheek. "Stop." Her voice shakes. "I hate you, stop it."

"No." His denial is followed by her wrapping her arms around him.

"I hate you." He kisses her shoulder.

"I know."

Confusion sets in, why was he doing this? "Stop it." He kissed her into silence.

"No."

Again, pulses raced, sweat poured into the sheets, she feels whole, she feels empty, he feels fire and she burns him.

Here they are again.

* * *

**So I'm thinking on turning Chapters 3 and 4 into an actual story, but I don't know yet. Review and tell me what you think. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Um, i think this is considered a drabble, a lot lighter than the previous chapter.**

**Enjoy. hey, and if anyone has any SUGGESTIONS, I think I might take a stab at writing a few.**

**R&R!**

* * *

She liked spending the day in bed with him, not that he let it happen very often, but every once in a while when they awoke and she looked up at him just right, he would sigh as if she was forcing him to do some horrendous task, and settle back down onto the mattress.

She especially liked laying her head on his chest and listen to his heart beat, slowly and steadily. It was a comfort she never thought she would be privy to.

Slowly, after a while of lying together, his hand would eventually come around to trace itself down the curve of her back, the light touch making her arch into his side. She would lower her eyes in a playful glare because she just knew he was smirking at her reaction.

Most of the time, they would lay in silence, daydreaming in each other's comforting presence. It was a nice change of pace, especially in a life like theirs, but every time, the silence would be broken by tangled legs and shifting sheets, and soft breaths that would spike up, up, and up. Then the positions would switch and she would be tracing his spine as he reclaimed his breath against her chest.

She liked those days.

She loved the days when he would cook, because after a few years of denial she finally admitted that she had no talent in the kitchen what-so-ever. She loved opening the door, its comforting squeak flowing to her ears before the delicious smell of sustenance would drift through her nose.

Her aching feet would sigh as she slipped off her sandals, and as she came closer to the kitchen, a warmth would fill her in a comforting embrace, and she couldn't help but smile at him.

After dinner, she would always do dishes, and he would always dry and then, well, then it was back to tangled legs and shifting sheets.

She adored the days when he would accompany her through town, whether to buy something in the market or check out books at the library, or to just simply walk. Her chest would swell and she would thank God for the blessing of having two of the things she loved with her at the same time: him and her village.

Sometimes they would see their friends and stop to talk, other times they would go through the city unnoticed, but every time it was special because they never knew when those days would be no more.

She especially adored it when their hands would bump together, and his fingers would slide down her forearm before intertwining with hers. It was always when the least people were around, she knew he was shy about things like that, but it never lessened her blush or dimmed her smile.

She cherished the days he told her he loved her. These days were few and far in between, but when it happened, when those three little, one syllable words reluctantly escaped his lips, they were the best days of her life. It had happened three times, one for each word, and every time was unexpected.

The first time was randomly while on a mission about a year after they were already 'together', though she couldn't be sure because they didn't really have a definite start, so she just measured the time of their relationship from when he moved in with her. She asked him if he knew where the map had disappeared to, and he had returned with those three words. She was frozen for at least a full twenty seconds before she cleared her throat and looked away, wondering if she had gone crazy.

The second time, she was in the right of mind to actually stutter the words back to him. He was in the hospital after being too competitive in training. Of course she was scolding him for taking things to far with his opponent, really, Rock Lee was at a disadvantage and should not be dealt with such advanced techniques that only _he _could perform. He let out a breath of irritation before exasperatedly telling her those three words, as if telling her to shut up.

It definitely had the same impact.

The third time was when she found out she couldn't have children during a routine physical. The sword that went through her when she was fifteen, the poisoned sword of the feared Sasori, had left damage that healing chakra could not dispel. She thought he would leave her for sure because what was the point in being with her if their union could never amount to such things, so she sat crossed legged on the bed, waiting for him to come home. She heard the door squeak open, his steady steps as he maneuvered through the house, taking his time to get to where he sensed she was.

When he finally entered, she could only blurt out the news, the horrible, horrible news. His response was the same reluctant sigh that he always gave in the mornings when she silently asked him to stay in bed with her. She wanted to cry then, but didn't because the next thing she knew, he had pressed his lips firmly against her temple before whispering those words to her.

That had ended in tangled legs and shifting sheets as well.

She reveled in the moments she could tease him because those were few and far in between. Most days it was he, smirking at her misfortune of whatever she did. But some days, she was able to smirk back and then grin in glory as a pink dusted his cheeks. One thing she will never ever let go was the day Naruto became hokage because her teammate/boyfriend-thingy (she couldn't be sure of what they were because he seemed too much apart of her to simply be her boyfriend, yet there was no declaration that they were anything more especially since he only ever referred to her by her name) cried.

When she witnessed the water works start and the quick brush of the back of the hand, she had softly pointed, questioned, and then snickered.

Her actions were met with a glare to salvage dignity lost.

That night her punishment was predictable. It was amazing their sheets were ever straight.

What she enjoyed, were the times he would catch her eye and she could see the feelings he had for her because it was not long ago when those eyes were filled with simple annoyance, or hate, but now, they were almost always warm. She would give a soft smile back and wonder when everything changed to get so good.

She decided it was the day that he was finally able to look into the light and see them again, see _her_ for her.

She especially liked that day and all the days that followed it.

* * *

**I've decided that Chapter's 3 &4, which we will call 'High School Blues' for lack of imagination, may be turned into a story but not until after "Going Home" & "Reaching" are done.**

**Side rant: yesterday I read a profile of an author who was sixteen and made it a point to say that she/he smoked pot every day and wasn't a virgin...wow, you're life is cool. **

**I live with it, and I hate it.**

**I will force myself to stop there.**

**anywho, **

**Suggestions or comments always welcome. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**So I don't really know where this came from. **

**The story contains some mature, and slightly disturbing, themes.**

* * *

She had gone missing three weeks previous. The hounds could not find her or the Hokage's most lethal hunters. They had been devastated. And so he was sent.

"_The mission can not be failed." _

"_What do I get out of it?"_

They had promised him redemption, he knew better, but the freedom to walk around without everyone knowing when he decided to piss had its appeal. He motioned for another drink, glad that the establishment didn't water down their sake.

It had taken him a week to track them down, more than he liked since each moment wasted was one in which she might have been killed, and he could not fail this mission.

It was humiliating to know people watched him fuck. And that was something he liked to do. It was the only thing that made him feel good anymore. To be in complete control and hit that high, it felt _good_ to be accepted by someone more than the Dobe, even if it was just physically. He downed the dirty shot in one gulp, reveling in its burn.

It felt _good_ that at least superficial women wanting a thrill with the bad boy weren't spitting at him as he walked, or condemning him with their looks, or avoiding him like _she_ did, but he didn't really care about that. He had stopped caring about her around the time his psyche was shredded to pieces three years ago, and it seemed the same could be said for her about him.

He raised his empty glass to the bartender, indicating he wanted another, before casually setting the glass down, waiting for his turn in the overcrowded bar. A female with too much makeup made her presence known with a slender hand on his shoulder. He smirked back at her, his reason for sitting at the bar accomplished.

Two years ago he would have been repulsed by the girl in his lap, throwing herself over him as they drank and drank, but that was when he was still a kid, crazy with hate and thirsty for revenge. Now he was just a man who wanted solace, and this was currently the closest thing. As the whore pressed her chest against him on their way up the stairs, he ironically noted that he had turned into his old mentor,

"_Even if you are successful in your revenge, all you'll be left with is emptiness…"_

More than a few times he had nodded a head to the man as he exited the red-light district with a woman, or with rolls reversed, and as he stuck his tongue down the whore's throat, his conscience reminded him that he was no closer to happiness than when he was twelve, just as she had predicted.

"_It won't bring anyone happiness, not even you …nor me."_

A sharp blow to the back of her head rendered her unconscious as soon as the door was locked. He let her drop to the floor, not having the time to place her on the stained mattress, before moving quickly over to the window and slipping out.

His breath came out in visible puffs as he focused on scaling across the wall to the fifth window with as little chakra as possible. He could still feel her chakra signature; it moved sluggishly, indicating that she was drugged or near death. For his sake, he hoped it was the former or not only would he be forever restricted to the leaf's walls, but he would also have to haul a dead body five days southwest.

Reaching his destination, he carefully peered into the grimy window. There was one man in the room, and through the dust and dirt, he could faintly make out her characteristic mop of hair on the bed. It was all he needed. He pulled his head back from the sill, retrieving a single senbon as he mentally calculated the man's movements. One second, two seconds, three seconds, four.

He infused chakra into his forearm and threw the projectile as hard as he could. It cut clean through the glass without cracking it, and found its mark in the man's jugular. He lifted the window open as his target fell to the ground. Stealthily, he slid into the stuffy room, moving to the fallen man and slitting his throat as a precautionary measure. It was only then that he turned towards his objective, and was immediately frozen in place.

The first impression was gruesome, the minute details, once taken in, were worse.

She was passed out on the bed, her matted, lackluster hair obscuring her face mostly from view. He took note of how her cuffed wrists were cut open and raw from where the metal had repeatedly rubbed against her skin, forming craters in her wrist that would no doubt scar. Dried blood from the opened wounds flowed down her gaunt arm, past her elbows at points, and over multiple bruises. His eyes blankly took in the hand prints around her neck, and the bruises and cuts on her breasts and stomach. He meant to take a step forward in order to cover her, to retain her innocence and modesty from at least him, but succeeded in only a slight shuffle as his eyes finally settled on her lower body.

She was covered in just a skirt; he recognized it passed the rips and stains as the one she wore on ninja duties. From beneath it, dried blood and other bodily fluids coated her thighs among a plethora of more bruises and cuts. It was then his fists tightened into shaking balls at his side. It was then he recognized the stench of the air as that of piss and the one he was most familiar with, _sex_. It was then that the most desperate ache to protect her, the one he had not felt since walking out of the village gates on a night long ago, was renewed with a blazing force.

Amid his rage and the overwhelming urge to burn the fucking place to the ground, he was supremely surprised by his reaction. He turned his head from the sight, his gaze coincidentally resting on the dead man, and his dark eyes narrowed. For a moment he envisioned killing him again, _slowly_, but in an instant the urge was gone, and he focused on the task at hand. He was wasting precious seconds standing there.

In a swift movement, he removed his cloak and moved it over her. When the heavy material touched her skin, she began to stir; he could practically feel her panic as she quickly awoke, and for another moment he irrationally paused to watch her blood-shot eyes, decorated with blues and yellows, flutter open and focus on him. She whimpered lowly as the cuffs on her hands shifted against the broken skin, and her eyes turned glossy once more as his eyes roved over the half-healed slashes on her face.

The place should definitely be burned, he thought, and every man within it should have their fucking balls-

Her split lips opened.

"Is it really you this time?"

His throat burned as he croaked a reply, "Yeah." Somehow, she managed a small, broken smile before she slipped out of consciousness once again. He wasted no time in picking the locks of the cuffs and scooping her up in a quick and harsh motion. In less than three seconds he had flashed out of the window and down the winding path that led to the main road. As soon as he was able, he sprinted up a tree, his hard steps sending bark flying in his wake. From there he focused on his breathing, in and out, slowly so he could run farther without stopping, not once glancing down at the girl.

* * *

He lasted a total of six hours. Leaping off of a particularly large branch, he landed with crouched knees on the ground, the front of his body bent over his burden. He scanned his surroundings, and finally found a rotted tree twenty feet away. With a deep breath, he kicked the bark, causing it to split, and in three more kicks, fall to the snow-covered ground, effectively creating a small coven where he carefully stuffed the girl. He took a moment to frown at her limp body; she hadn't stirred since their escape.

Quickly the thought was shaken away as he turned and sprinted to the inn a half mile down the road.

"One room." Quietly, as was his nature, he presented the cash to the receptionist. Unfortunately it was a pubescent girl, and, as was her nature, questioned him.

"All alone then?" His dark eyes held no emotion as he just quietly stared back at her. Her cheeks warmed, whether taking the silence as a no, or a none of your business. Either way, she handed the key over without another word.

He made his way to the room, 107, how ironic, almost casually. The door swung open easily, the establishment being of a finer quality than the one a few hours before. He threw his pack onto a chair by the door, swiping up the "Please, Do not Disturb" sign and hanging it on the door knob, before locking it and moving quickly to the window.

His stomach naturally twisted as he dropped the three levels to the snow-covered ground. He paused a moment, his fingertips wetting on the snow as he strained his senses to see if he had been noticed. There was no indication, and in the next moment he was off, back to retrieve his hidden objective.

It took a bit of maneuvering to get through the window without banging her head, he did end up nicking her foot on the ledge, but he figured one little cut wasn't going to really matter at this point. With a bit more care, he deposited her on the bed before firmly shutting the window and locking it.

He turned around, and stared at her. What was he supposed to do now? Dark eyes scanned over her once more. Her matted hair still covered most of her broken face, and through his cloak, he could see she was breathing regularly, albeit a little shallow. He breathed deeply in agitation, and again he was reminded of the sickening stench that surrounded her.

Wasting no time, he moved to the adjoining bathroom, forcefully flicking on the blinding florescent lights before running the water for a shower. He flipped his shirt over his head, throwing it randomly to the side as he walked back into the main room. Approaching the side of the bed, he paused for a few seconds, scanning over the unconscious woman before taking a fortifying breath through his nose. He reached forward and removed the cloak, careful to keep his eyes from wandering, as he removed her skirt, and picked her up, carrying her to the bathroom. Kicking the door closed behind him, he stood in the steam for a few minutes, holding her close to warm her body, before stepping into the shower.

He firmly held her against him with his left arm as he gently rubbed away the grim on her face and in her hair. Between the dried blood and bruises he could still see her beauty peaking through, and for a fleeting moment, the revelation relieved him because he knew that although she didn't paint her nails or eyes anymore, her appearance still had a significant meaning to her. Even at his regular distance of twenty yards or further, he could see that.

Somehow, he was able to hold her weight as well as scrub her scalp with shampoo, twice just to make sure the smell would not linger, before he moved to her body. He breathed as he slowly ran the lathered washcloth down the length of her left arm, watching as the white suds cascaded over the pale skin, darkening to pink before falling to the tub. Up and down, he repeated the action before moving down to her hands, linking his fingers through hers in an effort to clean every part of her. Once done with her hand, he moved to her shoulder, brushing the ragged hair out of the way to reveal the skin of her back.

He paused once more as his apathetic eyes took in the blemishes. With even more care, he gently ran the cloth around the burns, careful to not break the blisters. And he went on, thoroughly washing each part of her body, not pausing or thinking anything of it as his hands grasped her breasts or bottom through the cloth, avoiding the deeper cuts or darker bruises. Finally, he had worked his way down to her lower body. He paused, his hand resting on her thigh. He knew that multiple men had touched her; it was obvious by the multiple forms of torture her body exhibited, but for him to touch her…

"_Traitor"_

"_Ungrateful"_

"_Demon"_

"_Tainted"_

He was not oblivious to the words around him, just as he was not oblivious to her beauty. More than once he had used the image of her for release, and now he was about to invade her most personal area that only,

He felt her stiffen suddenly. He straightened his slightly bent position, anticipating her awakening. Her head rolled back on his hand with a moan before her eyes partially revealed themselves between her lashes, had it not been for her wounds, the sight could have been erotic. He focused on their color, apathy characterizing his face.

"No." The croaked word confused him, but he had no time to wonder on it as she repeated the denial, more forcefully, "No, no, no, no, no!" Her thin fists came up to weakly bang against his chest, pushing him away from her as she reeled back from his supportive embrace with a scream. He dropped the washcloth as his hand came up to grab her upper arm, "No! No!" She sobbed as he tried to calm her, calling her name sternly, slightly shaking her back to sanity. At this rate, someone was going to hear her. She stiffened again, her back bowed away from him, her head thrown back and her mouth open in a silent scream before she slowly righted herself, breathing shakily.

His muscles remained tight, ready to subdue her if she tried to escape. With a blank face he met her eyes as she stood straight, finally her bleeding lips parted to let out a sob. She seemed to collapse into herself, and he was at a loss on what to do before she suddenly threw her arms around his neck, burying her face under his chin as she cried.

His dark eyes went wide with bewilderment. He had never simply held someone when lustful actions weren't involved, but he had seen couples caress and hold one another, had witnessed little girls run into his teammates' arms after a long mission. With a sigh, he released his grip on her arms to wrap his own around her thin waist, holding her tightly as she continued to whimper.

As he watched the water fall over them, he realized this was the first time he had seen her cry in almost three years.

_Fiery pain erupted in his eyes, "Fuck!" He removed his hand, to locate his target once more but, wait, it couldn't be…_ _Futilely he wiped and wiped at his eyes, trying to regain his vision once more. Then he felt it. He clawed at her neck, a small part of him unbelieving that he allowed her to get so close, an even smaller part ignoring what she was trying to do. Almost gleefully he slowly took the kunai away from her, never looking away from her gasping form, even as she tried to slap his hand away and the tears continuously leaked down her face_.

He tightened his hold on her. "I'm here, I'm here."

She allowed him to finish washing her; he guessed she was far away from the moment by the look of her eyes as she continued to rest on him, too weak to hold herself up, he tried to do the same even as he touched her in the most forbidden parts. He dressed her in the cleanest shirt in his pack and his last pair of boxers before changing his sopping shorts. She quietly watched him as he later wrapped the gauze around her wrists. "How did it happen?" He didn't look up from his task as he questioned her.

"A mission to the border, bring an herb to the Feudal Lord's favorite nephew to increase his wife's fertility. On the way back, a little boy was being harassed. It never occurred to me that I was the real target; the boy injected me with some substance that immediately paralyzed me."

"They were following you, to know a weakness like that." That made his decision that he would not be able to wait for her to recover, he would have to carry her for the rest of the journey. He briefly glanced up to see her watching his actions. Her bottom lip was still horribly split as she spoke.

"Perhaps." She fell back asleep as he lightly spread antibiotic over the cuts on her face, and three hours later, he was left sitting at her bedside in the chair that had accompanied the desk, his fingers laced before his face, his elbows propped on his knees, as was customary. His eyes rested on her bruised face, viewable courtesy of the moonlight, as he focused on creating a plan.

It was a three and a half day journey home, but he would have to make it closer to two now that he had pursuers, there was no "perhaps" that she was targeted, that they would drag her so far away. They must have not reached their destination because there was no way she would be drugged and beaten just for a fuck. No, they had a plan, or were working for someone with a plan, and for them to know where she was, when she was going to be there, and a weakness of hers, than there must be a rat somewhere. His eyes narrowed, as he thought of when he found the fucker…

She shifted her head towards him and her eyes fluttered, sleepily taking in the light that entered through the window before shifting her eyes over to his shadow. "It's late." He took a moment to answer.

"Ah." She made to lick her lips, but winced when her tongue ran over the wound on her bottom one. With a sigh, she quietly looked around the room before rotating her head back towards him. "You should sleep." With that she scooted away just an inch or so before wincing.

"Don't move." His command didn't stop her in the least.

"Come sleep." He sighed under his breath at her quiet voice and reached over to grab the water he had gotten for her earlier, holding her head up as he brought it to her lips. When he set the cup back down on the side table, she repeated her request. He briefly closed his eyes.

"No." She rolled over to her side, her back facing him. He thought back to the shower and envisioned the location of each bruise.

"You're not going to hurt me." He gritted his teeth at how infuriating she was being. If he didn't know any better…

"That's not the point." Slowly, she rotated to peer at him over her shoulder.

"Please." He wasn't expecting that, and with a harsh look, he moved to lie beside her. Slowly, he slid in between the sheets, pausing once, unsure how to place his hands, before finally just settling one arm lightly over the dip of her waist, the other tucked firmly under his pillow. As soon as he was settled, she rolled partially back into him, tensing when her sensitive back made contact with his chest, before relaxing with a sigh.

After a few moments, her hand came around to run down his arm and rest lightly over his own that was splayed on the white sheet.

"Thank you." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose, pleased that she now smelled of soap and vaguely of him.

"I didn't do it for you." It was true, he did it so he could fuck freely and finally, finally, exit the walls of his renewed home. For a second though, it felt like he had failed her to admit that.

When he was younger, once or twice he entertained the idea of staying with them, of fighting his rival, of quiet talks with his old mentor about this technique or that, and of returning to a home, lying his headband on the bedside as he slid in beside her, placing his hands around her swollen abdomen, or reaching around a smaller body to touch hers.

Just once or twice because he knew in his heart it would never happen.

She quietly sighed at him, "Thank you all the same."

In two minutes, she was asleep once more, and he was left staring at the wall across from them, again pondering his next course of action. First he would send a summon to alert them of their arrival, yes that would probably be best.

The next morning, he gathered her in his arms, the filled canteen cradled to her chest like a child's bottle, and exited through the window once more, this time with no injury on her part though he knocked his elbow quite hard on the way out.

He ran throughout the day, taking three soldier pills as she alternated between dozing and just resting her head on his shoulder, her breath tickling his neck and occasionally her fingers as she trailed a line of sweat absentmindedly. He contributed it to the drugs still lingering in her system and tried not to dwell on the action.

Finally, he jumped heavily out of a tree, landing hard with a pant, nearly stumbling. The jar awoke her and she looked dazedly up at him, he was vaguely aware of her actions as he awaited the approach of the oncoming group.

She whispered his name in question, and he looked down at her, his lips parted as he panted, by the look in her eyes, it was obvious she was still drugged, and he momentarily wondered what exactly it was they gave her.

"Sakura!" At the shout, her lips parted in wonder and her head turned from looking up at him to stare at the group coming towards them. He knew the action must have hurt her, but she gave no outward indication of feeling pain. He felt her breath catch before she started moving, a signal for him to release her. He barely set her down before she fell forward, into the other man's embrace, both of them crying as they clutched each other. He resisted the scowl that wanted to form as he stood not two feet from the couple, he had never really believed in true public display of affections. He watched as her lithe fingers came up to caress the other man's face, as she quietly spoke his name,

"Shin."

* * *

A month later, when she knocks on his door, he is only partially surprised. He had expected this course of action perhaps two weeks after their return, but he knew she would seek him out at some point, even if it was to give him grief for seeing her naked, or demand he not reveal her drugged actions- the other day a partner licked the line of sweat on his neck and his body shivered, her name appearing behind his closed lids.

He was on his couch, quietly drinking through a bottle of sake, a congratulatory gift for his newfound freedom, when the soft knock pulled him from his thoughts and towards the door. His hair was still wet from the long shower earlier. He knew who the visitor was even before stoically opening the door, yet his first action was to raise an eyebrow, questioning why she was there. She responded with a small smile and short wave. "Can I come in?" After a moment, he stepped to the side, allowing her to enter, before soundlessly turning back to his sitting room to resume his earlier activity. He was overtly aware of every move she made, curious as to why she had sought him out.

"How did your mission go?" He responded with a grunt that she must have taken for a positive response. She nodded her head.

"That's good." Silence ensued as he refilled his cup. She was jittery and nervous; she kept moving her hands about her thighs. Finally, his patience ran thin.

"What do you want?" A soft smile was the response; he imagined she had a small secret that had to do with his blunt question, but he really didn't care.

"To say thank you." He paused in bringing the Sake cup to his lips, looking straight at her as he responded.

"I didn't do it for you." She smiled again, much to his agitation.

"I know, but the other things like caring for me and," She paused, a blush forming on her cheeks. He saved her the embarrassment of articulating what they both knew she was referring to.

"You smelled like shit, and I couldn't exactly let you bleed to death, that would have defeated the whole purpose of retrieving you." He caught her outraged look as he rose and made his way towards the kitchen. She followed him soon after with angry footfalls.

"Y-you're lying. I know you; you wouldn't have done those things if you truly didn't want to." They had entered the kitchen by this time, and he paused upon her statement before slowly turning around.

"You _know_ me?" His voice was low, dangerous. Her eyes widened momentarily before lowering in determination once more. "Tell me, how exactly do you know me when you couldn't even stand the sight of me for two fucking years!" His breathing increased with anger.

"W-w-well, I-" he dismissed her stammered reply with a noise and turned around, intent on finding another sake bottle. "Look, I'm sorry." He stopped his rummaging through the cupboards, "I just-everything had changed. You were this person that I didn't- and Everyone was so tired and blamed the war on him and you, and," She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I was afraid." For moment he stood there, breathing in her words.

"So you're no different then they all are." He looked at her. "Accusing me of being the traitor, the murderer, the fucking heartless prick that ruined their lives!" She stared at him with horror.

"No! No! How could you say that? I never-"

"Then what Sakura, why did you fucking abandon me!"

"Because I love you!" He was silenced by her confession, jerking back with wide eyes at the unexpected. She cleared her throat and quickly wiped at her eyes. "I loved you, but I was afraid I would turn back into the little obsessed girl I was before or worse, that you would ignore me." She smiled ruefully. "Naruto and you always had this connection, and I was just, Sakura. I knew you had no feelings for me, and I couldn't deal with your indifference. Then Shin came along, and I figured he would be enough, but it just was never… and then you came and saved me," Her smile turned brighter, and he turned his head away, "And you were so tender and kind and I realized that it was still you, you were still Sasuke-kun."

"You are looking too much into it, it was only a mission. I don't, I don't care for you." He kept his face carefully turned away from her as she approached him. As he felt her presence near, his grip on the counter tightened.

"So I've just been imagining all of those hawks above my head the past couple of weeks then?" Her confident tone made him grit his teeth. He watched in his peripheral vision as her pale hands came up to grasp his face on both sides before forcing him to look her in the eye. "Sasuke, just try for me." He raised his left hand and grabbed her wrist, his thumb brushing over the puckered skin of her scar.

"I can't be who you need me to be. You are better off just forgetting about this." She smiled softly, and he realized that it was the smile of her indulging him.

"I've tried that remember? It didn't work. Besides, I don't need you to be anyone other than Sasuke, that's all I've ever wanted, just Sasuke." He sighed deeply, closing his eyes as his thumbs continued to run over her scars, lowering her hands from his face at the same time, he still wasn't used to such contact.

"They hurt you." It took her a moment to answer, and when she did, her voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes, they did, very much." He opened his dark eyes to peer into her watery green ones.

"I won't let them hurt you. Ever" She simply nodded.

"I believe you." And even though he stiffened, she brought her arms around him and rested her face upon his chest. "I've always believed in you."

* * *

**I purposely left out their names for most of the story for some reason,, I forget my logic now. We are going to pretend Shin is the name of the guy who fell in love with Sakura during the war and wrote her the love letter, all of you who read the manga may know what I'm talking about. I know the ending is kind of sappy, but I hoped you all enjoyed it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I update when I have the inspiration to, and inspiration hit so...**

* * *

She consciously kept her lips pursed and her shoulders back as she glared at the man to her left, valiantly ignoring the acute ache between her shoulders from such rigid posture.

His eyes were currently hidden behind his pale lids. When she first came here- was _brought _here- she had been horrified at how the veins under his smooth skin looked as if they were drawn on the blank canvas.

He was beyond pale, and on more than one occasion, she had thought he looked just as dead as the people wandering around them. When she resurfaced from her musings, she found his dark, dark eyes staring back at her. She promptly resumed her glaring.

Once her mother told her if she held her face in such a manner for too long it would stick that way. She would have to inform her dear mother that she was wrong. She had been glaring at the passive man for the better part of a year and yet every time she looked at herself in the mirror, her face held the ability to resume its normal set.

Her pursed lips softened an the bottom plumped with thought as she wondered if it was possible that the man to her left had held his face in its current manner for so long that all emotion had escaped him. One brow absently quirked as she tried to recall any event in which his face was more than a blank slate.

None came to mind.

"Eat." Startled, her wide green eyes snapped back to his figure. If it was not for the command echoing through the vast room, she would have thought she imagined his voice, for he was in the exact same position, staring at her the exact same way as ten minutes ago.

Slowly, one pale hand rose from the arm rest and swept across the table before them. Immediately the long surface was filled with treats of every kind. Her lips parted in wonder as she took in the colorful sight of the produce.

There were plump fruits, starchy vegetables steaming in the little light of the room, treats piled like mountains of sugar, and cooked meat that smelled heavenly.

It was the largest array of color she had seen since she was captured, and a melancholy feeling swept through her as she wished for her home.

Resisting a sigh, she straightened her posture once more and turned to stare the man down. "My mother is coming to get me. It has already been declared that I will leave with her."

She carefully examined his face for a response to her words, but as usual she found none. After a moment, however, he surprised her once more by verbally answering.

"Then there is no harm in partaking in the meal. Consider it a…going away present. Afterall, you must be at least the littlest bit hungry."

Immediately she was suspicious. A going away present? He had dragged her to this god-forsaken place, held her captive for months, and now he suggest they celebrate her return to her rightful place? It was preposterous!

However…

When Hermes had brought the decree that she was to returned to her mother, he had simply waved his hand with a shrug. Perhaps he had become bored with her and was waiting for the opportunity to be rid of her without looking a fool?

She knew from stories he was prideful. Her green eyes shyly slid to his, still regarding her with no emotion. With a sigh, she swept her gaze across the table, until it alighted with glee upon reaching a favorite.

With a dainty hand she reached out to grab the fresh fruit, her palm carefully gripping the produce to bring to her nose.

Closing her eyes, she took a generous whiff, and unconsciously smiled brightly at the smell of home, and life, and happiness. Still somewhat cautious, her fingers gently split open the treat, half of her expecting it to be rotted on the inside, but to her great delight, she found only seeds glistening with a coating of the juice of the fruit.

Her eyes closed as she inhaled the overpowering, sweet smell once more, before she stole a quick glance at her companion. Still in his same position. Satisfied, she timidly took a bite of the fruit, lightly moaning as the substance filled her mouth.

She took another bite, and another, and another. A small stream of juice ran down her chin, and she reluctantly pulled back to wipe it away. It had been so long since she had eaten.

Almost absently she smiled over at the man, in gratitude of his bountiful gift, or in spite of him she was not sure; however, when her gaze landed on his face, she froze in horror.

A slight smirk had taken over his features, making him all the more attractive, but that was nothing compared to the gleam of excitement in his eyes.

To pomegranate slipped from between her suddenly dead fingers and landed with a thud on the ground.

* * *

**I thought it was a bit ambiguous, and Sasuke would make such a hot Hades. I think I could continue this, there are many places to take the story, but first I should probably get on the ball with one of my other works. **


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